—

—
Modular Coupling Devices
MCD80
—
Power Line Carrier Communication
Principle of PLC Coupling

DLTC
Line Traps

Z1 Z1 Z1 Z1
MCD80 Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Coupling devices ABB
Coupling
Capacitors
or CCVT

ETL600
PLC Terminal(s)
PLC PLC PLC PLC PLC PLC

Phase-to-phase coupling is normally used due to

the better performance, e.g. during line faults

April 5, 2019 Slide 2 Document id number: 4CAE000513

—
Modular Coupling Devices
MCD80

Elements of Coupling Devices

• Surge arrester for transients protection at the primary
terminals of coupling device.
• Drain coil for draining of power frequency currents to earth.
• Earthing switch for direct and efficient earthing of primary
terminals.
• Transformer for matching and galvanic isolation between
primary and secondary terminals of coupling device.
• High-pass or band-pass filter elements for optimum matching.
• Coaxial cable to PLC equipment in cabinet.

April 5, 2019 Slide 3

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Coupling Components
Principle of PLC Coupling

1. Surge arrester
2. Drain coil Substation HV line
(Phase conductor)
3. Earthing switch Line trap
4. Transformer for impedance PLC equipment in
matching and galvanic isolation Coupling cabinet (indoor)
5. High-pass or band-pass filter capacitor
elements
6. Coaxial cable to PLC equipment -
Coupling 5 4
6
Tx
MCD80 coupling unit
device
Coax cable
MCD 80
or Rx
3
1 2

MCD80

April 5, 2019 Slide 4

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Single Phase Coupling
Principle of PLC Coupling

Substation HV-line
Cabinet
Line
trap Coupling
capacitors PLC
equipment
Tx
Coupling
device
MCD 80
A9BS Rx
or
A9BP

April 5, 2019 Slide 5

—
Phase to Phase Coupling

• 2 single phase coupling

devices Substation HV-line
• Hybrid transformer for
Cabinet
decoupling of signals
and generation of Line
push-pull signals traps Coupling
PLC
capacitors
equipment
Tx
Coupling
devices
MCD 80
A9BT Rx
A9BS or
or A9BR
A9BP

April 5, 2019 Slide 6

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Modules of Coupling Equipment
Units and optional modules

• High-pass coupling filter A9BS

• High-pass coupling filter with hybrid transformer A9BT
• Band-pass coupling filter A9BP
• Band-pass coupling filter with hybrid transformer A9BR
• Attenuator A1AD
• Impedance transformer A1AE
• Separating filter A9CA
• Shunt tuning filter E9AA

April 5, 2019 Slide 7

—
High-Pass Coupling Device
A9BS 2

Ck 1500 2200 2700 3300 3900 4700 5600 6800 7500

Z1 pF to to to to to to to to and
Ω 2199 2699 3299 3899 4699 5599 6799 7499 up

240 232 158 132 115 96 80 70 60 52

320 180 128 102 90 78 76 70 58 52
Lower frequency limit f1 [kHz]

Ck = coupling capacitance Upper frequency limit f2 = 500 [kHz]

Z1 = impedance of overhead line Z2 = equipment side impedance

April 5, 2019 Slide 8  Special settings available for upper frequency of 1000 kHz
—
Tuning Characteristics
High-Pass Coupling Filter A9BS/A9BT
25
[dB]

20

Composite loss Ac 15
and Ar
Return loss Ar
10

Ac
0
0 1 00 200 300 400 [kHz] 600

Coupling capacitance Ck 4.7 nF Nominal line impedance Z1 240 Ω

Lower cut-off frequency f1 80 kHz Nominal return loss Ar 12 dB
Upper cut-off frequency f2 500 kHz Nominal composite loss Ac 2 dB

April 5, 2019 Slide 9

—
High-Pass Coupling Filter

A9BS - Programmable A9BT - Programmable, with 1 additional module

April 5, 2019 Slide 10

—
Band-Pass Coupling Device
A9BP

CK

Z1 Z2

f1 = lower frequency limit [Hz]

The attainable frequency
f2 = upper frequency limit [Hz]
ranges can be calculated
Ck = coupling capacitance [F]
f1 Z1 = impedance
f2 = of overhead line [Ω]
Z2 = equipment
2.5 x 10–7 x π x f1 x Ck x Z1 side impedance [Ω]
1 –
Ck + 1.0 x 10–7

April 5, 2019 Slide 11

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Features of Coupling Equipment

Feature Benefit
Modularity Compact unit with various modules to satisfy all coupling needs
High-pass version permits field matching within a wide range of coupling
Programmable
capacitor values and different line impedances
High transmission power handling Up to 1000 W PEP
Optimum utilization of coupling capacitance, versatile programming facilitates
Economical
stocking of spares
Climate proof Absolutely corrosion and weather proof owing to sealed polyglass housing

Maximum personnel protection
Standardized
Insulated enclosure as well as design measures minimize electrical hazards
Fulfill the standards according to:
IEC 60481 (Coupling Devices for Power Line Carrier System)
IEEE 643 (IEEE Guide for Power-Line Carrier Applications)
ISO 9001 (Quality Management)

April 5, 2019 Slide 12

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Carrier Combiner Unit A1AC
Phase to phase coupling with balanced hybrid in equipment room

Z1 Z1
Z2 Z2

A1AC

PLC

Equipment
room

April 5, 2019 Slide 13

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PLC Link
PLC link performance data

Substation A Al Substation B

At At

Z1 Z1 Z1 Z1
Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Ac Ac

PLC At = Tapping loss of line trap PLC

Ac = Composite loss of phase-phase coupling
Al = Composite loss of HV line
A = Overall attenuation of PLC link

April 5, 2019 Slide 14

—
PLC By-Pass Circuits
Straight through connection without local carrier equipment

At

At
Substation
Z1 Z1 Z1 Z1

Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Ac Ac

At = Tapping loss of line trap

Ac = Composite loss of phase-phase coupling
A = Overall attenuation of by-passed signal
A = 4...8 dB

April 5, 2019 Slide 15

—
PLC By-Pass Circuits
By-pass circuit with local carrier in one direction using balanced hybrid A1AC

At

At
Substation
Z1 Z1 Z1 Z1
Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Ac Ac

Ah

PLC At = Tapping loss of line trap

Ac = Composite loss of phase-phase coupling
Ah = Composite loss of hybrid
A = Overall attenuation of by-passed signal
A = 7...11 dB

April 5, 2019 Slide 16

—
PLC By-Pass Circuits
By-pass circuit with local carrier in one direction using separating filter A9CA

At

At
Z1 Z1
Substation Z1 Z1

Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Ac Ac

Asf

PLC At = Tapping loss of line trap

Ac = Composite loss of phase-phase coupling
Asf = Composite loss of separating filter
A = Overall attenuation of by-passed signal
A = 5...9 dB

April 5, 2019 Slide 17

—
PLC By-Pass Circuits
By-pass circuit with local carrier in both directions using balanced hybrid A1AC

At

At
Z1 Z1 Substation Z1 Z1
Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Ac Ac

Ah Ah

PLC At = Tapping loss of line trap PLC

Ac = Composite loss of phase-phase coupling
Ah = Composite loss of hybrid
A = Overall attenuation of by-passed signal
A = 10...14 dB

April 5, 2019 Slide 18

—
PLC By-Pass Circuits
By-pass circuit with local carrier in both directions using separating filter A9CA

At

At
Z1 Z1
Substation Z1 Z1

Z2 Z2 Z2 Z2
Ac Ac

Asf Asf

PLC At = Tapping loss of line trap PLC

Ac = Composite loss of phase-phase coupling
Ah = Composite loss of hybrid
A = Overall attenuation of by-passed signal
A = 6...10 dB

April 5, 2019 Slide 19